£7 

GenCol1 



PZ 3 
.C9S107 
Be 

Copy 1 



















BEHOLD 
THE... 
MAGNET 


BY 

ELIZABETH CUTTING 









c„ ^ 
• 4 * 7 


© C1A753G69 


JUL -3 1923 

» 

O'Y'tf I 


Copyright 1923 

GILLETT SERVICE LEAGUE 
Hollywood, California 











“I hold it as a changeless law from which 
no soul can sway or swerve—we have that in 
us which will draw that which we need or 
most deserve.” 


WALT WHITMAN. 


Cast of Characters 


Samuel Service —whose merry, child-like, lov¬ 
able nature had never been quenched by 
the disillusionments of his earlier life; 
strikingly dark and handsome, with the 
simplicity of dress and bearing which is 
the natural result of accustomed wealth. 

Joy Goodwin — refined, thoughtful, yet 
sprightly by nature; attractive and grace¬ 
ful in appearance, with an originality of 
style not usually seen in humble surround¬ 
ings like hers. 

Billy Goodwin —Joy’s seven-year-old son, 
imaginative to an unusual degree, who 
preferred to play in his own little world 
of fun and fancy with his dog, “Pal,” 
rather than mingle with the kind of boys 
to be found in their neighborhood. 

Diana —wholesome, witty, lovable negro 
woman who had cared for Billy from in¬ 
fancy, and was devoted to her mistress 
and the boy with the ardor of the old- 
time “mammy.” 

Jerome Cabot —Mrs. Goodwin's employer; 
austere, hard-headed business man, ex¬ 
tremely jealous of his own interests, self- 
willed, with a determination which swept 
everything and everybody from his path 
that might interfere with his plans. 


Miles Ferret—Cabot’s accomplice—a passive 
tool in dangerous hands. 

George—Negro porter at the Equity Building 
where Cabot’s offices were located; loyal 
to Mrs. Goodwin’s interests, and an insis¬ 
tent wooer of Diana’s. 

Lem—Rival suitor for Diana’s hand. 

Group of 100 orphan children with several 
teachers in charge; negro chauffeurs for 
Service and Cabot; Cabot’s “rough-neck” 
ranch hand and his hard-faced wife. 

Scenes laid in Southern California: 

1. Mrs. Goodwin’s bungalow. 

2. Jerome Cabot’s office. 

3. The “Service Center.” 

4. Ranch house in remote canyon of the 

foot-hills. 






BEHOLD THE MAGNET! 


“And now abideth Faith, Hope, Love—these 
three—and the greatest of these is Love.” 

The early winter evening closed in upon Joy 
Goodwin and her seven-year-old son, Billy, 
sitting before a small grate fire in a simple 
California bungalow living-room. The boy, 
evidently ready for bed in his little pajamas, 
was bending with absorbed attention over his 
mother’s knees, on which reposed a copy of 
“Arabian Nights,” open at the always en¬ 
chanting tale of Aladdin and his wonderful 
lamp. 

Evidently reading his mother’s wistful 
thought as she looked at the cheap, unadorned 
little volume, the boy looked up at her hap¬ 
pily, exclaiming, “But, mother, I don’t need 
any pictures; I just see it plain as day. And 
what do you suppose? This afternoon ‘Pal’ 
and I were playing ‘Aladdin’ out on the curb, 
and I was making him sit up on his hind legs, 
with the bicycle lamp tucked in his front paw. 
I was just playing be the genie to obey his 
commands when along came a man—very 
dark like an Arab—and he laughed a lot and 
played with us for a long time. ‘Pal’ just 
loved him and so did I. He could ’magine 
things, too, without any pictures, and he’s 
coming back to play some more.” 

Reluctantly closing the book, the little chap 
trudged off to bed in the simple room beyond, 


1 


which sufficed for both mother and son in this 
very tiny home, bespeaking its mistress’ dainty 
personality, to a marked degree, in spite of its 
evident limitations. Tucking Billy in, after a 
vigorous hug, Joy returned to her comfortable 
reading chair in the living room and picked 
up a book on a nearby table. Evidently a sen¬ 
tence caught her attention quickly, for she half 
closed the book, looked thoughtfully into the 
dying embers of the fire, and sat meditatively 
for a few moments. 

“Nor time nor space, nor deep nor high, 
Can keep my own away from me.’’ 

These lines from the well-loved Burroughs’ 
poem seemed to stand out on the page in 
blackest letters as she had opened the book. 

“That is the law of attraction—the sure 
solution of every problem. I shall prove it, 
too, old dear,” she added aloud, turning to 
stroke the responsive dog, Billy’s playmate, 
who reached up, looking steadfastly in her 
face, as if comprehending her inmost thoughts 
as well as the spoken word. 

At this moment a rear door opened, show¬ 
ing the somewhat tousled head of black Diana. 
This devoted “mammy’’ had returned to care 
for “her baby” and the boy since first the 
young mother had been thrust into a business 
career, against all of her natural inclinations, 
through the untimely death of a fond but 
improvident husband. 


2 


‘Tse gwine out a bit if you all won’t be 
lonesome, Mis’ Joy,” and with a friendly but 
absent-minded nod from Mrs. Goodwin, she 
retreated. 

A little later, Diana, trudging down a busy 
thoroughfare, suddenly encountered an ad¬ 
mirer—George, the colored porter at the 
Equity Building where Mrs. Goodwin spent 
her working hours in the employ of Jerome 
Cabot, member of a firm of wealthy brokers. 
With the usual interest in his office patrons, 
George had kept an eye on Mrs. Goodwin, 
whose considerate treatment of him had won 
his devotion, as well, knowing her story 
through Diana. Of late he had observed that 
Mr. Cabot showed more than customary busi¬ 
ness interest in dealing with his attractive but 
dignified office manager. This fact, together 
with Mrs. Goodwin’s evident dislike for such 
increasing attentions, had aroused the good 
man’s suspicions that all was not as it should 
be for her peace of mind. 

“Come ’long, George, you’se late for de 
meetin’ now,” called Diana, but George pulled 
away impatiently, ‘Tse gwine back to de 
buildin’. Sumpin’s doin’ an’ I don’ lak it. 
Where’s yo’ missus?” But Diana had moved 
on, losing interest when she found George 
was not bound for the meeting house, and 
not grasping the drift of his remarks. George 
proceeded muttering to himself, “’Spose dat 

3 


Lem ’ll be hanging ’roun’ her, but dis time I’s 
gwine to look out fo’ de Missus fust.” 

A few minutes afterward as George reached 
the building, he saw Mr. Cabot hurriedly en¬ 
tering his car in company with a man of still 
more sinister aspect, the latter turning in time 
to see the porter, and evidently remarking on 
the incident to his companion as they drove 
away. 

During the hour which followed Diana’s 
departure, Joy had sat reading and thinking, 
rising once or twice to put a fresh log on the 
grate fire which was evidently welcome on 
this chilly California 'evening. Suddenly 
“Pal” growled, rose up from his post at the 
corner of the chimney and began to bark. At 
a word from his mistress he stopped the loud 
barking but continued to growl as steps were 
now evident to her less sensitive ears. 

The bell rang and Joy hastily put her open 
book on the table under the reading lamp. 
Grasping the dog by the collar, she approached 
the door and turned on the porch light. She 
drew open the door slightly, then gave an in¬ 
voluntary start on seeing her austere employer 
with a cynical smile and a half-triumphant 
glance as he advanced without waiting for an 
invitation. Hesitatingly Joy stepped back to 
admit Mr. Cabot, sharply reprimanding the 
dog who continued to growl and snifif suspic¬ 
iously at the stranger’s heels. 


4 


“Is there anything the matter, Mr. Cabot? 
Why did you not telephone if you wished to 
give me any directions regarding tomorrow? 
Are you leaving town?” These questions 
rapidly one after another gave Joy a chance 
to recover her poise somewhat as she motioned 
to the dog to go back to his seat in the corner. 
Her employer looked admiringly up and down 
the pretty curves of Joy’s well-rounded figure, 
set off becomingly by a simple negligee of be¬ 
coming color. Instinctively she shrank away 
from him, sensing again the accurate instincts 
of the dog in reading character—a fact on 
which she had learned to depend. For weeks 
she had been feeling a growing dislike towards 
Cabot, but in the business atmosphere of daily 
contact she had been able to hold her own, 
realizing only too well the urgent demands 
which kept her tied to an uncongenial task. 

“Mrs. Goodwin, for five months I’ve been 
watching and waiting for you—for just this 
opportunity. My interest is not easily aroused 
but I have determined to win you for my 
personal pleasure, and you know full well that 
what I will to do, I always accomplish.” Joy 
sank into the near-by chair, for a moment 
feeling helpless at his words and manner. 
Then, as her eyes fell on the book she had 
been reading, there suddenly came to her an 
assurance of strength to meet any emergency. 
With this thought she drew herself erect and 
was about to reply when the attention of both 

5 


was directed to the adjoining - room by the sud¬ 
den appearance of a little white figure in pa¬ 
jamas, rubbing his eyes sleepily as he said, 
“What’s the matter, Mother? I was just 
dreaming that the African magician was car¬ 
rying ofif Aladdin’s lovely princess and then I 
heard Pal’s barking. Who are you?” turning 
to Cabot inquiringly. 

“This is Mr. Cabot at the office where 
Mother works, Billy.” 

“But he looks a lot like that African magi¬ 
cian I saw in my dream. You aren’t going to 
take my princess-mother, are you? If you 
do, Pal and I’ll—.” Just then the dog rose 
growling ominously and started toward a side 
window. Billy called out excitedly, “A man 
—looking in—I saw him.” 

Cabot’s quick glance had also detected the 
intruder’s features and under guise of inves¬ 
tigating to quiet the disturbance, he beat a 
hasty retreat to his auto. As the door had 
opened when Cabot left, Joy caught a glimpse 
of another figure hurriedly getting into the 
rear seat; the door of the machine banged a 
little, and instantly the car got under full 
power in its dash down the street toward town. 

At the next block Cabot turned half-around 
at the wheel, speaking to his companion in the 
rear seat, “Well, did you get a good look at the 
youngster? You’d easily remember his un¬ 
usual eyes. The dog is the big hindrance— 
they’re always playing together,” and he in- 

6 


wardly recoiled a bit, remembering the recep¬ 
tion he had just received, both from the animal 
and his mistress. 

In the meantime Mrs. Goodwin had double- 
locked the door, pending Diana’s return, then 
sank into the big chair before the fire, cuddling 
the boy for a time until he grew sleepy, and 
carried him ofif to bed. As she returned to 
the living-room table, her glance fell upon the 
book in which she had been so much absorbed 
when the disturbing interruption came. Re¬ 
minded of her former peaceful thoughts, with 
a look of determination, she said half-aloud 
to the dog, “Pal, I know I have a protector 
somewhere, besides you, and I shall find him 
soon.” She leaned back with a perfect sense 
of relaxation, falling into a little doze until 
the return of her faithful guardian, Diana. 

* * * * * * * 

This same evening, in quite a distant and 
different part of the city, a man was pacing up 
and down his luxurious living-room. Here, 
too, a log fire crackled, but of more generous 
proportions, and in a wide, open fireplace 
which bespoke every comfort that money 
could buy. Near by lay a magnificent St. Ber¬ 
nard dog majestically stretched on a beautiful 
rug, keeping a watchful eye on his master as 
if in wonderment at the latter’s unusual rest¬ 
lessness. The man finally walked over to a 
beautiful grand player-piano—his usual means 

7 


of distracting attention from disturbing mem¬ 
ories. 

Handsome, strikingly dark, with eyes that 
lit into a veritable starry gleam when at play 
with his dog or a child, Samuel Service was a 
figure that attracted attention everywhere, 
yet with a genuine simplicity of manner which 
showed an almost child-like unconsciousness 
of his appearance and the magnetic effect of 
his lovable personality. His love for children 
had developed into almost a passion, pathetic 
in its fatherly devotion since his only boy had 
died at birth. A gradual estrangement had 
grown up between his wife and himself, due 
largely to an entire lack of comprehension on 
her part of his ambitions, as her self-centered 
mind could not grasp the plan for universal 
service which was his life-motive. Following 
the inevitable divorce, he had for several years 
devoted himself exclusively to the practical 
working out of his ideas and apparently had 
succeeded in forgetting the personal side of 
life, as he had hoped to realize it. 

As Service sat listening to the beautifully 
modulated strains of the piano, interpreted by 
a master-mind through the wonderful mechan¬ 
ism at his command, he found his mental gaze 
turning persistently to the scenes of the after¬ 
noon. 

A business errand had brought him to an¬ 
other part of the city, and choosing to take his 
daily walk in this way, he had gone some 

8 


blocks out of the necessary route before re¬ 
turning to the place where he had parked his 
car. Turning a corner, through a strange im¬ 
pulsion which he could not resist, he saw to 
his keen delight a little scene being enacted on 
the curb in front of a tiny bungalow. Sitting 
upright on his hind legs, an intelligent-looking 
dog of probably mixed ancestry was proudly 
holding a funny old bicycle lamp between his 
front paw and his body. In the gutter, 
directly facing the dog, stood a manly little 
fellow about seven years old, his attractive 
face set off rather strikingly by a mass of 
brown hair. 

At a command from his little master, “Rub 
the lamp,” the dog waved his unoccupied paw 
up and down, brushing the edge of the old 
lamp which he was embracing in the bend of 
the other paw. 

Hearing a step the boy looked up expect¬ 
antly, apparently not the least surprised when 
Service stopped short, his radiant smile aglow 
at the prospect of both child and dog. “Here’s 
the genie, Pal. Isn’t he black?”—then to Ser¬ 
vice, “You must say, T am the slave of the 
lamp at your command. What is your bid¬ 
ding, Aladdin ?’ ” 

Instantly grasping the spirit of reality in the 
little scene before him, Service threw himself 
with child-like delight into the play for fully a 
half hour, only to be brought back to the 

9 


every-day, grown-up world by hearing a 
friendly negro voice calling out: “Come along, 
chile, and git cleaned up ’fo’ you mammy come 
home from de office.” An instant’s cloud came 
over the little boy’s face at the prospect of 
having to leave his enchanting world and the 
new-found playmate who knew just how to do 
things. However, he did not hesitate to obey 
the summons, and calling the dog, started 
toward the house. With a wave of the hand 
to Service, he called out cheerily, “I’ll be here 
tomorrow and perhaps we’ll get the palace 
built.” “Aye, aye, sir,” called back Service, 
as he turned to retrace his steps, carefully 
taking note of the name of the street before he 
turned the corner. 

sfc a|c 

The ceasing of the piano record brought 
Service back with a start to his own luxurious 
room and its emptiness so far as human com¬ 
panionship was concerned, just as Leo, the 
great St. Bernard, rising up from the hearth, 
came over inquiringly to put his head on his 
master’s knee and look searchingly into his 
face. 

“Well, old boy, we’ll have to fill up this big 
house someway or else build another. What 
do you say to adopting a family?” 

He walked over to a bookcase, searched for 
a few minutes, laughing as he brought out a 
large volume. Settling himself comfortably 

10 


in the depths of an armchair under the reading 
lamp, he turned the pages until he found the 
story of “Aladdin.” For some time he sat 
completely absorbed in its beautiful illustra¬ 
tions and refreshing his memory on this im¬ 
mortal tale so appealing to the imagination. 
Then putting the book down, he turned to the 
dog at his side, patting him enthusiastically 
as he exclaimed half aloud, “There is more 
truth than fiction woven into that fascinating 
tale, only we’ve failed to touch the real mag¬ 
net which brings us our desires.” With a new 
light of expectation in his face, he arose, gave 
a final pat to his faithful friend and turned 
toward his own suite leading out from the 
farther end of the room. 

The following afternoon found Service re¬ 
tracing his steps to the scene of his frolic 
with the boy, partly urged on by his own de¬ 
sire, but also because of his innate faithfulness 
of spirit to child as well as dog, in not betray¬ 
ing the confidence so serenely placed in him 
by his little playmate. Gaily they romped up 
and down the block, Billy’s dog always at their 
heels, then settled down on the curb to resume 
the “Aladdin” game. 

“I have a scheme, Billy, if your mother will 
give her consent. Let’s have Diana bring you 
over to my house where there is lots of room, 
and we’ll have a real palace appear when you 
rub the lamp. Ask your mother when she re- 

11 


turns if I may call and make arrangements for 
our little play at my home. Give this card 
to her and I will telephone early in the eve¬ 
ning.” Delighted at the prospect of further 
adventure with his new friend, Billy took the 
card and started toward the house where 
Diana was just appearing at the front door to 
call her charge. Waving goodbye, Service 
walked around the corner where he had this 
time parked his car, and sped homeward as 
full of happy anticipation as the little lad he 
had left. 

A little later, as he drove into the park com¬ 
pletely surrounding his beautiful home, built 
in an unusual style according to his own plans, 
the big dog came bounding forward to meet 
him and together they went into a side door to 
the left of the patio where Service busied him¬ 
self for some time in his private auditorium— 
a new interest in his whole manner, whistling 
and laughing aloud from time to time as he 
tried out the new projection lamp on his own 
“silver screen.” 

A few hours afterward saw him at the tele¬ 
phone awaiting with boyish eagerness the per¬ 
mission which was evidently granted, as he 
hastily put on his coat, jumped into the car, 
and within an hour was ringing the bell at the 
modest home of Joy Goodwin. 

In honor of the unusual event, black Diana, 
resplendent in white apron, opened the door 


12 


for the caller, but there was little room for 
formality when Billy rushed at his new friend 
exclaiming, “See, Mother, this is my Arabian 
knight—he’s dark but he isn’t wicked.” Mrs. 
Goodwin came forward as the dog ran joy¬ 
fully up to Service, while Billy’s spontaneous 
introduction quite naturally dispelled any 
sense of strangeness. Instantly there came 
over her a feeling of complete harmony and 
ease as if lifted into her own native atmos¬ 
phere. With the boy on his knee, as they sat 
before the fire, Service, too, became conscious 
of an inner contentment and radiance of being 
in this little impromptu family circle which he 
had so unexpectedly completed by his pres¬ 
ence. 

As they talked, the boy slipped down and 
running over to his own little desk, came back 
to show Service one of his chief treasures— 
a little horseshoe magnet. Lifting it up above 
a tray, groups of iron filings clung to each 
end of the horseshoe, and Mrs. Goodwin laugh¬ 
ingly explained, “The magnet is the symbol 
of our philosophy in this household, and even 
Diana (smiling as the radiant black face ap¬ 
peared in the doorway on the lookout for the 
needs of the grate fire) unconsciously draws 
us both into a charmed circle with her kindly 
ministrations.” 

Time sped all too quickly for each one of the 
little group, but Service realized that the boy’s 
bedtime had probably long since arrived and 

13 


rose to take his departure. “I’ll send the car, 
then, at two o’clock for the boy and his faith¬ 
ful guardian and have him home when you 
arrive.” 

At the door, as he shook hands with Joy, 
Billy held tightly to his other hand, while the 
dog at his heels frisked joyously. “Why, 
Mother, my ‘Arab’ is a magnet, don’t you see? 
We’re all clinging to him just like the iron fil¬ 
ings.” With a happy laugh they both released 
his hands and the door closed on a man with 
a new vision in his mind and a faster heart¬ 
beat as he entered his car and sped toward 
home. 

When he sat down an hour later in a com¬ 
fortable smoking jacket for a good time with 
his pipe before the fire, his great house seemed 
at last to be peopled aright. Visions of a 
woman and a boy filled its spaces, though even 
this personal joy would not be allowed to 
crowd out the many plans he had already put 
into operation for letting his beautiful home 
“Center” be of service to the public at certain 
times and for various groups of those less for¬ 
tunate. “Well, old boy, I haven’t forgotten 
you, either,” as the great dog stole up and 
rested his head on his master’s knee, looking 
eagerly for the usual caresses. 

* * * * * * * 

The next morning at the office found Joy 
Goodwin facing a tense situation, following 
close on the heels of the freedom and happi- 

14 


ness experienced the previous night in her 
meeting with Samuel Service. She sat alone 
at the desk, her mind persistently returning 
to the events of the evening before, when the 
door opened noiselessly and Mr. Cabot, whom 
she had thought out of town for the day, sud¬ 
denly confronted her with his usual attitude 
of self-willed assurance. “I have ordered my 
car for two o’clock to take you and the boy 
with me out to a country place I am looking 
over with a view to your interests—and mine,” 
he added, after a pause in which he fixed his 
eyes on her with a hypnotic intensity and a 
pride of supposed possession. 

Joy rose in her chair, for a moment taken by 
surprise. “It is impossible, Mr. Cabot. My 
boy is leaving at that time with Diana, my 
servant, for an afternoon with a—friend, and 
I do not care to go alone with you on such a 
trip—I am needed here, as you well know.” 

Cabot turned to his inner office with a half- 
sneering smile, followed by a suppressed ex¬ 
pression of jealousy as he remarked, “Oh— 
another friend is interested in the boy, I see. 
Well, there are other ways of securing your 
society—later on.” Once beyond his closed 
door, Cabot hurriedly went to the telephone. 
Evidently getting the person he wanted, he 
said quietly, “Have the car near the bungalow 
at two o’clock. Follow to learn destination. 
Tonight at the club for dinner at six.” 

15 


Shortly before two o’clock that afternoon a 
limousine parked half-way down the block 
from the Goodwin bungalow. Its sole occu¬ 
pant, presumably waiting for someone, kept 
his glance down the street where a neatly 
dressed little boy was romping with his dog. 
Presently a big car drew up before the bunga¬ 
low, the boy ran to the house, calling Diana 
and reluctantly sending the dog inside as he 
said consolingly, “You aren’t invited this time, 
dear old ‘Pal.’ You must guard the house.” 
Smiling Diana appeared, decked in her best, 
and together they entered the comfortable 
car, while the colored chauffeur lifted his hat 
with dignity, yet with a show of interest in 
his charges, both black and white. 

As they moved noiselessly around the cor¬ 
ner, the limousine down the block slowly got 
under way and took the same route, keeping 
within easy distance behind on the city streets, 
and dropping back a little further as they en¬ 
tered the long stretches of road leading to the 
suburban section. On they went out beautiful 
driveways until at last the first car turned 
into what seemed like a park with no residence 
visible from the road. It disappeared up a 
winding drive, lined on both sides by graceful 
pepper trees, while the second car halted long 
enough for the man inside to note the unusual 
name over the gateway: 

SERVICE CENTER—Open to the public 
Wednesdays and Saturdays, 2-5 P. M. 

16 












Then he turned and drove swiftly back to 
the city. 

When Diana and Billy alighted from the 
car in front of the ‘‘Center,” Service was leis¬ 
urely coming toward the steps through the 
beautiful open patio, followed by his dignified, 
yet alert comrade, “Leo,” all eagerness to greet 
the arrivals. Billy ran forward in delight to 
grasp his friend’s hands, exclaiming, “Is this 
the palace? Isn’t it wonderful?” 

Service greeted Diana courteously and then 
introduced his dog companion with due respect 
to the latter’s keen intelligence and sympa¬ 
thetic understanding of humans. The latter 
instantly recognized the nature of the two 
friendly guests and led them joyously toward 
the porch beyond the patio. On the way Billy 
stopped at the fountain in the center to watch 
the goldfish in the miniature pond below, then 
looked up radiantly toward the right wing of 
the building as a burst of bird song filled the 
air. This ecstasy of sound, the lovely scent of 
flowers, vines and ferns, with the brilliant Cal¬ 
ifornia sunshine casting a spell over the whole 
scene, conveyed to the little boy’s mind a sud¬ 
den realization of the enchanted palace of his 
play-world, and he fairly danced with delight. 

Service wisely did nothing to quell his enthu¬ 
siasm and when it had spent itself to a degree, 
he led the way into the big comfortable living- 
room with its enchanting pictures, books, 
player-piano, etc. For a time they listened to 

17 




the music, dog and boy already fast friends as 
they stretched out on a fur rug together. 

Then, one by one, Service showed the wings 
of the building to his small guest, followed 
respectfully by the amazed Diana to whom 
such a place as a home was apparently a mys¬ 
tifying revelation. Although enjoying the 
luxury of his “Center” home, Service avoided 
all formality and ostentation in his daily life, 
keeping as few servants as possible for the 
needs of the place. In carrying out his ideas 
for sharing with the rest of the world his in¬ 
teresting home and business center, he had 
evolved many interesting features for inde¬ 
pendent living, combined with useful activities 
and methods of entertainment and relaxation. 

To the right of the patio was a perfect little 
workshop and exhibition room where Service 
carried on his own particular indoor hobby of 
making jewelry. With his long, deft fingures 
he pointed out to his guests the delicate tools, 
the unset stones and precious metals he used 
in the work; then several cabinets filled with 
finished work of rare beauty. Occupying the 
whole end of the room was a wire birdhouse, 
opening out on the patio, with a large collec¬ 
tion of beautiful canaries—his constant source 
of joy while busy in the workshop at the other 
end of the room. 

Passing out on the porch again, they as¬ 
cended a graceful stairway leading out of the 

18 


patio to a roof garden overlooking the hills, 
with a vista of distant city and beyond, the 
shimmering ocean. Here under an awning 
they found a dainty table, evidently in readi¬ 
ness for a “tea-party” and presently a maid 
appeared with cakes and ice cream in forms to 
delight the fancy of a child. This, to Billy, 
was the climax, so he supposed, to his “Arab¬ 
ian Nights’ Entertainment,” but another sur¬ 
prise awaited him on descending similar stairs 
on the other side of the patio into the left wing 
of the building. 

As they entered the doorway, Service turned 
on the electric lights and there, in miniature, 
was a complete theatre. The boy gazed in 
wonder at the little stage with its perfect ap¬ 
pointments of scenery, when suddenly the 
lights went out, a “silver screen” descended, 
and a moving-picture light focussed on a scene 
of surpassing beauty—a beautiful “real” pal¬ 
ace, followed by a short version of the “Cin¬ 
derella” story which Service had secured in 
preparation for a private entertainment he was 
planning for a group of orphans from a Home 
in the city. 

After the last scene dissolved and the lights 
went on again, Billy, now quiet and tired by 
his wonderful two hours in this new world of 
beauty and surprises, made ready to leave, at 
Diana’s reminder. The car was waiting for 
them, and as they drove off, Billy looked back 
to see the last wave from Service and the last 


19 


wag of the tail from “Leo.” Turning to his 
nurse with tired, wondering eyes, as if still in 
a dream, the boy said slowly, “My Arab has a 
magnet better than Aladdin’s lamp and I be¬ 
lieve it is inside of him.” 

* ***** * 

That evening Jerome Cabot dined at the 
club, as arranged in the morning over the 
telephone. His companion, Miles Ferret, was 
very evidently his passive tool, judging by the 
conversation in low tones as soon as the waiter 
was out of hearing. Cabot leaned forward 
eagerly while Ferret described his ride of the 
afternoon into the suburbs. “The destination 
was a very unusual place, owned, I have since 
learned, by a wealthy man, Samuel Service, 
a man of hobbies—children, animals, and 
building these ‘Centers,’ as he calls them. A 
notice on the gateway said the place was open 
to the public two afternoons a week; it might 
be well to send someone out to scout around. 
He evidently has unlimited means, so you are 
bidding against strong odds, Cabot, if you ex¬ 
pect to divert my lady’s attention from all 
that.” 

“But I have determined on this step,” re¬ 
plied the evident dictator in a masterful, crush¬ 
ing tone, “and I have never yet lost out.” 
With this, Ferret subsided, and when they 
rose, walking toward the lobby, Cabot added, 
“I shall expect your execution of the plan in 
every detail as I outlined it to you last night 

20 


on leaving the Equity Building, and remember 
to pay that darky well.” 

“By-the-way,” Ferret began meekly, “Did 
you notice that porter of yours at the building 
watching us closely as we drove off? He has 
seemed devotedly interested in your office 
manager; several times when I have been 
waiting outside for you, he has trumped up 
excuses to come in and look after the trash 
basket, eyeing me each time as if he thought 
I might be going to kidnap her. You’ll have 
to get him and that black nurse of hers other¬ 
wise engaged or there may be serious interfer¬ 
ence. Those negro servants are surely de¬ 
voted when they are faithful and will fight to 
the death to defend their employers—a relic 
of slave days, I judge.” 

“I’ll see to that,” said Cabot abruptly and 
hurried away to his waiting car. 

* * * * * * * 

As the days sped by, Billy’s visit to the 
“Service Center” was often repeated, always 
under the protecting care of loyal Diana, while 
an occasional call from Service on Mrs. Good¬ 
win served to strengthen the bond which had 
brought her boy into such a joyous compan¬ 
ionship. 

One afternoon, when Service’s car was ex¬ 
pected to take the boy and nurse out to the 
“Center,” Billy had gone out earlier than usual 
to watch for its arrival. As a machine drew 
up to the curb, he ran forward eagerly and 

21 


was just stepping into the door which had 
opened instantly, when he noticed the chauf¬ 
feur’s voice—unaccustomed to him. “Mista 
Suvice wants you early today, so jump in 
quickly, boy,” and he pulled him inside, slam¬ 
ming the door. “But who are you—and, wait, 
please, chauffeur, Diana isn’t ready. She’ll be 
—,” but at this instant a man emerged from 
the rear seat of the big limousine, covered the 
boy’s head, holding him fast, as he tried to 
protest in a muffled voice. 

In the meantime, Billy’s faithful “Pal,” who 
had been looking out of the window mourn¬ 
fully, knowing that he would be left behind, 
noticed the unusual disappearance of his little 
master without Diana and began to bark 
loudly. Diana, just pulling on her dress, and 
struggling to hold it together as she ran, came 
rushing into the front room. She looked out 
of the window past the dog, and saw that the 
boy wasn’t in sight. Noticing the dog’s dis¬ 
turbed manner, she ran to the door, looked up 
and down the block. Hurrying to the rear of 
the house, she grabbed her coat and with the 
dog, started out around the corner. Knowing 
the boy’s usual obedience, his sudden dropping 
out of sight caused Diana genuine alarm, and 
at the end of half an hour, she was well nigh 
distracted. 

Returning to the house she called Service 
and asked if the car had called, learning that 
it had been gone for some time. Meanwhile, 


22 


Service’s chauffeur had driven up, while Diana 
was frantically searching the neighborhood, 
and finding no response to his repeated rings 
at the door, had finally driven off, later return¬ 
ing just as the frightened nurse and the dog 
appeared from their fruitless investigation. 
After a hasty consultation, Diana called Ser¬ 
vice again to explain the further confusion, 
and he immediately gave his man orders to 
return at once for him personally. 

When Mrs. Goodwin entered the house at 
five-thirty, to her surprise she found Service 
pacing the floor in her little living-room. 
Carefully explaining the situation, his efforts 
already in getting the police at work in all 
directions, he tenderly gave her as much com¬ 
fort as he dared. 

In the meantime at a distant ranch house in 
a very secluded spot in the mountains, little 
Billy had arrived in company with his captor. 
When released and his head uncovered, he 
found himself face to face with the man whom 
he had glimpsed through the window that 
night at the bungalow when Service first 
called. Ferret, Cabot’s accomplice, shoved 
the boy roughly into a cold, bare room, dimly 
lighted. In a corner stood a little cot and on 
a small wooden table near by was a pitcher 
of milk and some bread in a bowl. 

Wearily, with tear-stained face, yet trying 
to keep a stiff upper lip, the boy wandered over 

23 


to the table, ate a little and finding it tasted 
pretty good, he finally finished everything in 
sight, then almost toppled over onto the bed. 
He began to take off his clothes with difficulty 
as he was stiff from the long-restrained posi¬ 
tion in the car. Stretching out his arms with 
a prolonged yawn, he said aloud as if talking 
to his usual playmate, “Pal,” “Well, I guess 
I’m like Aladdin when he found himself in 
the underground dungeon. Now I must look 
for the lamp and all will be well. Maybe my 
‘Arab’ will come and take me home to 
Mother.” Then as he got his outer clothing 
off, he evidently realized the lack of the usual 
pajamas and decided to crawl into bed in his, 
underwear. He reached up to turn off the 
excuse for a light, standing on the only chair, 
and as he blinkingly looked at the bulb, he 
said again, with a sudden remembrance of his 
loved “Pal,” “I tell you, I’ll get my inside 
magnet to work. That will be better than 
Aladdin’s lamp.” 

% jh ^ ^ ^ % ❖ 

In his own cozy little bungalow home, his 
beloved “Arab” was at this same time reluct¬ 
antly bidding good-night to the little mother, 
with the dog looking anxiously up at him as 
if he would surely solve the strange problem 
of his young master’s absence. “I’ll keep in 
touch with you tomorrow, and feel confident 
of a speedy solution of this affair. The motive 
can’t be a reward, if the captor knows any- 

v 24 


thing of your business situation; there is some¬ 
thing personal behind it.” Taking both of her 
hands in his, he looked tenderly down at the 
troubled face. “You do indeed need a pro¬ 
tector now more than ever.” The comfort of 
his presence and the assuring words suddenly 
released her pent-up nerves, and she did not 
resist the arms which enfolded her. 

“When we get our little boy back again, 
wouldn’t it be better to move your whole 
household, including faithful Diana, over to 
my big, lonely home? I’ve been planning ex¬ 
tended wings at the rear to correspond with 
those in front; this would give you your own 
independent quarters, as well as sharing mine, 
and provide a playground equipped for the 
boy’s especial interests.” 

Restored by his magnetic presence and the 
prospect of a real home with congenial com¬ 
panionship ahead, Joy almost forgot the im¬ 
mediate problem, and radiantly responded as 
he drew this picture of a cherished future for 
all of them. 

He turned toward the door, and in passing 
her desk, she picked up a little framed copy of 
her favorite Burroughs’ poem, and pointed to 
the two lines, so deeply imbedded in her 
mind— 

“Nor time, nor space, nor deep nor high 

Can keep my own away from me.” 

25 


V 


“That is the simple ‘magnet’ philosophy I 
have been able to show Billy through his little 
horseshoe plaything, and I know he will re¬ 
member it, just as I am, wherever he is. Now 
it has proved true in bringing you into my 
hfe just when I most needed protection and 
love.” 

“We’ll see it brought into even greater ful¬ 
fillment than you can yet realize and yours 
will be a life of ‘Joy’ indeed, as far as I can 
make it.” With this, Service forced himself 
to leave her, with a goodnight caress. 

» 1 # > 1 / % 1 » 

'j' 'T* 'T* 'I s - 'r 

Three days passed with every clue for the 
missing boy proving a disappointment. On 
the fourth day, as Joy sat at her desk in the 
office, vainly trying to concentrate her atten¬ 
tion on some letters, Cabot suddenly entered, 
apparently in great agitation. 

“Put on your wraps at once, Mrs. Goodwin. 
I have at last found, through my colored 
chauffeur, a ‘tip’ that will bring your boy in a 
few hours without any question. But we 
must leave at once—it is imperative.” 

Joy rose hastily, as if to get her wraps from a 
closet, then stopped and looked at him in¬ 
tently. “You must drive around to my house 
and let me get Diana; she is quite necessary— 
both for me and the boy.” Cabot evidently 
started to object, then thought better of it. 
With a half-contemptuous smile, he held the 


26 


door open, and they descended the elevator to 
find Cabot’s car waiting. 

Just as Mrs. Goodwin started to get into the 
machine, she turned instinctively in time to 
see George, the negro porter, looking after her 
with a really frightened expression, then dash 
back into the entrance of the building to a 
telephone booth. With a feeling of wonder¬ 
ment, and a growing uneasiness which she 
always felt when alone with Cabot, she sat 
down reluctantly, then leaned forward to give 
the chauffeur the number of her house. 

Diana, at this moment, hastily answered a 
summons to the telephone and George, at the 
other end, shouted, “Git your hat and catch de 
fust car to dis office. Yo’ missus just went ofif 
in her boss’s car and I’se sure dey’s sumpin* 
wrong. I’ll call Mistah Suvice—” Bang—he 
slammed the receiver, as, looking out through 
the glass door, he saw to his surprise, the very 
man he wanted—Mr. Service—evidently bound 
for the office upstairs to report to Mrs. Good¬ 
win, with whom he had kept in close touch 
since the boy’s disappearance. 

At the porter’s hasty explanation, Service 
was taken completely by surprise, and with a 
hurried direction to him, Service jumped into 
his car, telling his man to catch the trail of 
Cabot’s machine, if possible, surmising that it 
must be headed for Mrs. Goodwin’s bungalow. 

In a half hour Diana was hurriedly making 

27 


her way from the street car toward the Equity 
Building. In spite of her hasty summons, 
she had taken pains to don her “best,” and a 
certain feminine instinct led her to pass the 
shoe-shining stand where her admirer, Lem, 
did a thriving business. This aggressive 
“gen’man” happened at the moment to be 
“cooling his heels,” and at sight of the proud, 
comely figure of Diana, head in the air and 
looking straight ahead as if totally uncon¬ 
scious of his proximity, he made a dash after 
her down the block. 

“Hi, there—Oh, you gal o’ mine,” he called 
out. 

“Niggah, who’s you ’dressin’ in such a 
mannah?” she replied, without a turn of the 
head, and proceeded on her way. 

“I’se got a present fo’ you—de fattest chicken 
in de market. Wait till I git it— 

Diana visibly weakened, slowing her pace, 
and Lem ran back to his stand, soon appear¬ 
ing with a parcel under his arm, just as she 
came to the Equity Building. 

George, who had been on the lookout in the 
lobby, came forward in a good deal of excite¬ 
ment, and at that instant caught sight of Lem 
trying to catch up. 

“Here’s yo’ chicken, honey-gal,” Lem called. 

At that, George, whose disposition had al¬ 
ready been stretched beyond its usual good 
humor, due to his genuine alarm over Mrs. 


28 


Goodwin, seeing the chicken’s legs dangling 
from the package, made a rush towards Lem. 

“I’ll teach yo black niggah to ‘chicken’ my 
gal,” he shouted and made a grab for the inno¬ 
cent cause of the conflict, pulling it out from 
the smaller man’s arms and chasing him half 
way down the block. When he returned, he 
rather shame-facedly handed the package over 
to Diana, who was nothing loath to accept 
an almost unknown luxury in Mrs. Goodwin’s 
household. 

In the meantime as Cabot’s car stopped in 
front of Mrs. Goodwin’s bungalow, Joy leaned 
forward impatiently. Hardly waiting for the 
machine to stop, she ran hastily to the front 
door, shutting it after her immediately as if 
she feared that Cabot would follow. 

It took but a moment to look over the house 
and to her dismay there was no sign of Diana. 
A glance into the latter’s closet showed that 
her wraps were gone, neither was the dog to 
be found. Such a situation in her household 
was most unusual, for when necessity took 
Diana out, it had been customary, during her 
absence, to leave “Pal” in charge, as he had 
proved himself absolutely reliable in watching 
both the house and his small master while at 
play. 

Sensing something wrong, Joy went to the 
telephone to call Service only to learn that he 

29 


was not at home. There seemed nothing to 
do but return to the car, for in spite of her in¬ 
stinctive distrust of Cabot, she felt somehow 
that he could do what he had said with such 
assurance—bring her to Billy. 

Just as the car started to glide away, a 
sharp, familiar barking attracted Joy's atten¬ 
tion, and looking out, she saw “Par' dashing 
around the corner from the direction of the 
street car, where he had followed Diana, who, 
in her excitement, had forgotten to shut him 
inside. Joy implored Cabot to stop for the 
dog, but he curtly refused, and she sank back 
in her seat, for the first time feeling a sense 
of inner defeat in his presence, and a growing 
fear. 

The dog, however, having caught a glimpse 
of his mistress, persisted in following the car. 
After seeing Diana leave on the street car, 
and now his mistress rushing away, he evi¬ 
dently felt that his whole little world was slip¬ 
ping away from him, so he followed as closely 
as possible, even after the speed of the machine 
increased on the country roads. 

Just as Cabot’s car turned a corner, two 
blocks down from the little bungalow, Ser¬ 
vice’s machine drew up at the curb in front 
of the house. Recognizing the dog in pursuit 
of the disappearing automobile Service 
grasped the probable situation and told his 
chauffeur to drive on slowly, allowing the 
first car to gain on him. 


30 


Mile after mile the pursuit continued until 
finally the dog began to show signs of not be¬ 
ing able to keep up, and as he was now lagging 
considerably behind, Service told his man to 
catch up to the animal, then slow down care¬ 
fully to pick him up. At first suspicious, the 
tired dog began to growl, then recognizing 
Service, finally yielded to his persuasions and 
climbed in, almost falling from exhaustion. 
By this time the car ahead was nearly out of 
sight, but speeding up, they again caught the 
trail which was now approaching the foothills. 

In the first car, Cabot, growing more ag¬ 
gressively offensive as they reached the coun¬ 
try roads, attempted to embrace Mrs. Good¬ 
win, and held her fast, saying triumphantly, 
though in subdued tones, “Now you are my 
possession and you will soon be in the remote 
cottage where your boy is waiting for you— 
and me.” The discreet chauffeur, evidently 
well primed as to what to expect, was appar¬ 
ently unaware of any occurrence in the rear 
seat. Joy realized that he would remain stolidly 
indifferent to any outcry, should she care to ap¬ 
peal to him, so as Cabot continued speaking in 
her ear, she decided that it was best, for the 
time being at any rate, not to resist. 

“If you willingly accept the plans I have 
made for our future, I will take you and the 
boy at once to a friend’s home in a nearby 
town and we will be properly married to 


31 


satisfy your scruples. If not—his captivity 
and yours will be lengthened and strength¬ 
ened in an even more remote spot, and I shall 
visit you when I so desire. You are mine 
either way. I can give you more than your 
infatuated lover who has been ‘playing up’ to 
the boy to ingratiate himself with you.” 

Struggling for several minutes to release 
herself from his hold, hearing his plans as if in 
a dream of horror, she suddenly realized that 
she need not give in to such a ruthless situa¬ 
tion if she were true to her instincts and to her 
conviction of the power of Good in her life. 
“Resist not evil” flashed into her mind, and 
she lay back passively, as if accepting his em¬ 
brace. Knowing full well the magnetic power 
of real Love, as she had taught it to her little 
son through his plaything, the horseshoe, she 
consciously turned her attention to the true de¬ 
votion and protection she knew was with her 
every moment in the love of Service for her 
and her child. 

Gradually a look of peace came over her face 
as she relaxed from the strain and fear of the 
last hour in Cabot’s power. He, himself, blind 
to such knowledge as hers, and thinking only 
of his own passion, thought she had surren¬ 
dered easily to him and an expression of con¬ 
scious power and triumph gleamed in his eyes 
as he held her fast. 

The car was now climbing up a canyon road 

32 


not far from its destination. Suddenly the 
machine gave a jerk; it lunged to the side of 
the road. In attempting to meet the emer¬ 
gency, the chauffeur lost control, and the car 
began quickly backing down the hill At a 
turn in the road it careened into a deep ditch 
and was finally stopped by a huge tree. 

Not many moments later, Service’s car care¬ 
fully turned the curve and came to an abrupt 
stop as the chauffeur caught sight of a part of 
the overturned machine with a negro head 
just emerging with difficulty from the front 
opening. Service and his man leaped out and 
ran quickly to assist in extricating the other 
occupants, as the injured chauffeur, his face cut 
from the broken glass, was practically useless. 

Both Cabot and Mrs. Goodwin appeared to 
have been knocked unconscious and the extent 
of any other possible injury was as yet to be 
determined, although Cabot’s groans, as he 
was eventually released, indicated some broken 
bones at least. Joy gave no sign as Service 
and his man carried her to the car. The dog 
barked excitedly as he recognized his mistress 
and tried to lick her face when she was 
stretched out on the wide seat in the rear. 

In the little ranch house two miles beyond 
the scene of the accident, little Billy, serenely 
unconscious of the near-tragedy down the 
road, had been trying to amuse himself just 
as he had been doing for the last two days 

33 


) > > 


under the constant surveillance of Cabot’s 
surly ranch man and his hardened looking 
wife. He had found some pets in a friendly 
cat and her kittens, and when allowed the priv¬ 
ilege of these little animals, he was fairly con¬ 
tent. 

Unused, however, to harsh treatment, the 
boy had quailed under the rough blows di¬ 
rected toward him the first day when he anx¬ 
iously and plaintively put some questions to his 
warders. “Is this Africa?” he had asked on 
the morning following his arrival, when he en¬ 
countered the hard-faced man who had been 
Cabot’s agent in arranging to keep the cap¬ 
tured boy. 

“What ya givin’ us? Africa!—,” with a 
sneer. “You ain’t quite there, I reckon.” 

“Well, in my Aladdin story, the princess 
was carried ofif in the night to Africa by a 
wicked man—.” A slap over the head silenced 
this outburst and from that time on, Billy’s 
imagination worked along silently. With his 
child-like faith he never doubted that his re¬ 
lease would come just as Aladdin arrived in the 
“nick of time” to rescue his princess from the 
African conjuror. 

As the boy sat playing with the kittens in 
a fenced inclosure at the rear of the ranch 
house, his attention was suddenly arrested by 
the sound of a heavy machine making the 
grade in front of the place. So little passing 

34 


occurred in this remote spot that he stopped 
his play to listen, especially as it was soon evi¬ 
dent that the car had stopped. Ever on the 
alert for release from his imprisonment, Billy 
was not wholly surprised a few minutes later 
to see his friend, Service, coming toward him 
from the entrance at the rear of the house. 
With a joyous cry he ran forward to greet his 
deliverer, whose sober face relaxed somewhat 
with the relief of finding the child. At his 
heels was “Pal,” scattering dismay among the 
boy’s new pets, but too much excited over his 
restored young master to give any heed to 
the feline balls running in all directions while 
the growling, spitting mother-cat tried to back 
them toward a retreat under the house. 

“Is Mother here?” asked the boy eagerly, 
and then grew silent as Service explained that 
she had been taken ill on the road and would 
have to be undisturbed for perhaps a long time. 
Service kept the boy occupied until the men 
had carried the two injured people into the 
house, then made preparations to have his man 
return at once to the nearest town to secure 
a doctor, while he stood guard over Joy, hop¬ 
ing for an awakening from unconsciousness 
before the physician’s arrival. 

Back in the little bungalow in the city, 
Diana had been sitting, Bible in hand, for some 
time following her ill-timed trip to town where, 
following the “chicken” episode, she had been 

35 


unable to learn much of what had happened 
from the excited account of her friend, George, 
at the Equity Building. 

Though wholly mystified by the turn events 
had taken, and inclined to be panicky after 
the nature of her race, the good woman had 
imbibed enough of the mental atmosphere in 
Mrs. Goodwin’s home so that even with the 
disappearance of her entire houshold, includ¬ 
ing the dog, she held fast to her faith that 
soon some word would come in explanation. 
Presently she jumped up as the telephone 
rang, and after listening breathlessly for a 
moment, she called back, “Praise de Lawd, 
Mistah Suvice. I’ll hold de fort ’til you all 
lets me know when yo’re cornin’, but I hope 
it won’t be mo’ than a day or two.” 

Sinking back into her rocker, she waved 
her hands excitedly for a moment or so, then 
added aloud, “Here’s where that man George 
can do a turn fo’ me and keep me company 
after his chores is done at de office tomorrow. 
I’ll cook dat chicken in Alabamy style, and 
maybe—,” she laughed aloud, “Well, I reckon 
I has been a bit cool-like when he wanted to 
come ’round.” 

* * * * * * * 

The third day following, Mrs. Goodwin was 
sufficiently restored from what proved only 
bruises and shock to be removed to her home 
with Billy. Cabot was still in bed, fiercely 

36 


raging over a broken leg, together with the 
utter collapse of what he had thought were 
well-laid plans which could not miscarry. 
Destined to stay in his self-imposed prison 
until the doctor gave permission for him to 
be removed to his bachelor quarters in town, 
he chafed constantly, thus retarding his re¬ 
covery, and was ready to burst the bonds when 
he heard Service’s car leaving on that day for 
its destination in the city, knowing full well 
who the passengers must be. 

* * * * * * * 

Three months later saw the fulfillment of 
Service’s long-cherished plan of adding two ad¬ 
ditional wings at the more secluded side of 
his unique home, this part to serve his new 
bride for her own quarters. Here she could 
now fulfill a dream of independence with an 
opportunity to carry out her special hobbies, 
and give her boy, in addition, the advantages 
for which she had longed toward his physical 
and mental development. 

Diana had been established in her own apart¬ 
ment and it looked as if another addition to 
the colored menage might soon be made in 
the person of George, who seemed quite will¬ 
ing to resign his place at the Equity Building 
to meet the additional demands for help at 
the “Center,” especially as his faithful court¬ 
ship of Diana showed definite signs of being 
rewarded. 


37 


A week after the family was well settled, 
preparations were made for the first public 
opening of the building since it had been tem¬ 
porarily closed during the reconstruction 
work. 

As two o’clock approached on the after¬ 
noon of this opening day, Billy was standing 
out in the patio, eagerly awaiting the arrival 
of the hundred little guests who had been es¬ 
pecially invited for the occasion from a Chil¬ 
dren’s Home in the city. As these happy 
youngsters, with their teachers, trooped into 
the auditorium where a special performance 
of “Arabian Nights,” in picture form, was to 
be given, Billy played the part of a very joy¬ 
ous little host. Following the play, Mrs. 
Goodwin and Diana dispensed good things to 
eat on the roof garden, so the children evident¬ 
ly felt as they took their departure, that they 
had indeed been to a veritable fairy palace. 

After the last bus had driven away, Billy, 
with his mother and new father, turned to 
walk back through the patio just as stately 
“Leo” and frisky “Pal,” who had become 
fast friends, came from the porch at the rear. 
Billy stood still by the fountain a moment, 
then put his hand into his pocket, pulling out 
his old treasure—the horseshoe magnet. He 
held it aloft while his two playmates came up 
to him, eagerly lifting their heads as if ex¬ 
pecting a morsel. 


38 


Laughing happily, the little boy turned 
around, and ran impulsively to his mother, 
throwing his arms around her. Then he left 
her to catch hold of Service’s hands, the latter 
lifting him high up on his shoulders. With 
an arm around his “Arab’s” neck, Billy reached 
out to encircle his mother’s as well. They 
stood there a moment, a symbolic group, 
united through the invisible current of Love, 
surrounded by every evidence of beauty, and 
the happy companionship of animals and birds, 
ready to continue their far-reaching service 
to a larger world beyond the confines of their 
own happy home. 



39 










LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



0 001 939 478 5 • 
























































